Off the Record Berry Gathering

Members of the Cranberries reunited in honor of Dolores O'Riordan joining the likes of the Edge, Al Pacino, Helen Mirren and Salman Rushdie in being made an honorary patron of Trinity College's Philosophical Society, according to a report in Hot Press. After being interviewed in front of 300 wildly appreciative Trinners students by Hot Press' Stuart Clark, Dolores and the brothers Hogan, who hadn't been on stage or in the same room together for almost six years, performed string-quartet assisted versions of "Linger," her 2007 solo hit "Ordinary Day" and "Zombie." "When I was asked a few weeks ago if I was up for it I thought, 'Oh, it'll be a nice simple acoustic job,' but Dolores being Dolores she decided she wanted to make a real occasion of it and have a string section as well," Noel Hogan told Hot Press beforehand. "I kept leaving it, but finally got my old notebooks out last night and slipped right back into it. We rehearsed this afternoon and, I have to say, it sounded pretty good." Of course, this prompts rumors of a reunion of the Cranberries. So, when are they going to get back together? "Definitely down the road, but not right now," Dolores says, "because we've all got kids and babies. You can't really do both, be on the road all the time and be a good parent. To bring kids into the world, you need to be there for them. I'm really enjoying taking things at my own pace." Fans will be pleased to hear, though, that Dolores' second solo album, No Baggage?, is due in May, with "Skeleton," "Tranquilizer," "Lunatic" and "Switch off the Moment" tracks in the mix. Meanwhile, Noel Hogan and Oxford singer Richard Walters will release a collaborative project called Arkitekt. Hogan also has a compilation of Limerick acts ready to go on his own Gohan Records label.